5 reasons why LA Rams Offensive Line goes from rags to riches...

5 reasons LA Rams OL goes from rags to riches

[ramblinfan.com]

by Bret Stuter -February 17, 2020

Fans believe the LA Rams must add to their offensive line to fix it for the 2020 season. But the Rams offensive linemen will go from rags to riches in 2020

The LA Rams did not perform well in the 2019 season. Ask anyone what the problem was, and you will get the exact same answer. The offensive line. The 2018 Super Bowl LIII team boasted left tackle Andrew Whitworth, left guard Rodger Saffold, center John Sullivan, right guard Austin Blythe, right tackle Rob Havenstein. Immediately following that season, the Rams lost Saffold to free agency and failed to make Sullivan an offer to return.

The result? The Rams started the 2019 season with first-time starters Brian Allen at the center, and Joseph Noteboom at left guard. That was not a very well thought out plan, on so many levels.

Meanwhile, the Rams drafted two offensive linemen, OT Bobby Evans and OT David Edwards to backfill the team’s depth chart. Two out, two in, the “balance” was restored. In the eyes of the front office, the Rams had accomplished their part. Now, it was up to the coaching staff to prepare the young men for the season.

Both Brian Allen and Joseph Noteboom had arrived at the team in 2018 via the NFL Draft. Noteboom was a significant investment for the Rams, garnering a third-round pick. Allen required a fourth-round pick. One year of apprenticeship, and then promoted to a starting role on a defending NFC champion.

The balance disturbed
But neither Allen or Noteboom seemed to be ready. Or perhaps it was sending two new players side by side to start in the NFL which resonated confusion, overthinking and poorer decision making. In any case, the Rams won their first three games, but they were not winning in LA Rams style. In Todd Gurley‘s first three games, he rushed for 97 yards, 63 yards, and 43 yards respectively.

Finally, the Rams faced a dreadful trap game in the 1-2 Tampa Bay Buccaneers at home. While Todd Gurley led the Rams with just 16 rushing yards, quarterback Jared Goff torched the Bucs for 517 yards in the air. Until that game, the Rams had sustained a rather balanced offensive attack. But in this game, the Rams rushed 11 times and passed 68 times. Balance, schmalance. On that day, in that game, the Rams forgot their identity.

And then, injuries began to happen. Allen’s and Noteboom’s seasons ended early, forcing the Rams to promote Evans and Edwards to starting roles. Blythe was injured temporarily, forcing the Rams to trade with the Cleveland Browns for offensive guard Austin Corbett. When Blythe returned, he took over at center allowing Corbett to slide in at his more natural guard position. Havenstein fell to injury, which prompted the Rams to sign C Coleman Shelton from the Arizona Cardinals practice squad.

Draft a baker’s dozen
This season, the LA Rams will likely re-sign left tackle Andrew Whitworth, solving the questions at that position, but creating new questions for the Rams. What will the team do with all these offensive linemen? Historically, the Rams carry eight offensive linemen on the 53-man roster. So, looking ahead, who will the team choose? Even before the Rams go to the NFL Draft, there is already a surplus of offensive linemen.

The Rams currently have David Edwards, Bobby Evans, Rob Havenstein, Austin Corbett, Joe Noteboom, Brian Allen, Chandler Brewer, Nate Trewyn, Jamil Demby, and Jeremiah Kolone. As the Rams add Whitworth back to the fold and have the option to re-sign center Coleman Shelton for cheap, the Rams suddenly have 12 offensive linemen the team is familiar with, many of whom have served in a starter’s role in 2019.

From the moment the LA Rams draft a player, they will effectively be adding a 13th lineman to the list. Or worse yet, sign a free agent beyond Andrew Whitworth. To the fans, the team must assure themselves of a solid and NFL ready offensive line in 2020. To the Rams’ front office? The team’s roster is complete chaos.

In theory, the Rams now have a group of average players. David Edwards, Bobby Evans, Rob Havenstein, Austin Corbett, Joe Noteboom, and Brian Allen all have NFL starter experience. But at the end of training camp, when the team must whittle down the line to a 53-man roster, at least two of those players won’t be with the team any longer. The front office should wisely try to convert that experience into other NFL currency – draft picks.

Reason 1 – Some must go
NFL teams, like any other professional sports organization, are set up to process larger numbers of players efficiently into their systems. But do not confuse efficient with effective. For teams with more than their contingent of draft picks, or a significant number or roster openings at the same position, training camps are not set up to coach up each individual player.

Teams rely upon varying degrees of experience, both the NFL and the team, to assist new rookies to learn how everything works. Too few rookies and the pipeline of new talent dries up. Too many young rookies and the staff are overwhelmed.

This season, the Rams simply haven’t enough slots for offensive linemen for NFL newcomers. In fact, the Rams have far too many players at the same level to distinguish first string to third string. The Rams depth chart will be a nightmare to sort out. With the exception of Andrew Whitworth, virtually all four offensive line positions are completely up in the air.

So what? The key to good offensive line play is repetitions. Each member of the starting five must know and understand instinctively what each of the other four members is doing in real-time as the play unfolds in front of them. The team cannot use all of the training camp sessions to sort through a depth chart.

Reason 2 – Who to coach up?
How do you draft to improve the team without a clear handle on who of the linemen can step up, and who cannot? Draft picks are valuable commodities, and the Rams must decide among the coaching staff which players need more time, and which players have peaked in terms of their ability to play better.

Those are incredibly difficult discussions to hold among a coaching staff where the majority of players in the discussion have started a partial NFL season. Assuming the Rams fall back to their most senior status on the team, the coaches will favor starting Andrew Whitworth at left tackle, Austin Corbett and left guard, Brian Allen (if he is healthy enough) at the center, David Edwards at right guard, and Rob Havenstein at right tackle.

So that’s settled. Or is it? Joe Noteboom struggled in 2019, but he was a college left tackle. Should he become Andrew Whitworth’s heir apparent? Do the Rams want to count on Brian Allen at the center position, knowing he is returning from a knee injury? Shouldn’t the team give the opportunity to a healthy Coleman Shelton? The offensive line has so many moving parts that position competitions must be fierce but quick.

Reason 3 – Trade value
The LA Rams know full well what the trade value of an NFL starting offensive lineman can be in a pinch. After all, the Rams were squeezed by the Cleveland Browns for a 2021 NFL draft fifth-round pick.

The NFL knows that the NFL Draft is a crapshoot. 32 teams will attempt to draft multiple offensive linemen in the NFL Draft. But the 2020 NFL Scouting Combine has only invited 52 offensive linemen to attend the event. The difference will be made up among the ranks of undrafted free agent offensive linemen.

The Rams will hold a surplus of offensive linemen throughout training camp all the way to preseason games. But unless the team commits early to retain more than eight offensive linemen in the 53 man roster, the trade value of those linemen will fall to nothing from the moment the first roster cuts begin.

Even sending linemen to the team’s practice squad can be openly and legally poached by other teams at will. For the Rams to realize the value of their investments into the offensive line, they should be open to trade surplus players throughout the summer to whichever team is in need of reinforcements.

Reason 4 – NFL game experience is valuable
With all the work, effort, exercise, and training throughout organized team activities, nothing simulates the actual experience of an NFL game. That means a great deal to front offices who shop to add depth throughout an NFL season.

NFL games are recorded. Each play is available for analysis. It’s not poorly recorded video, testimony from a friend of a friend, or a sketchy scouting sheet. It’s replicable video evidence to show anyone in the organization. Errors can be instantly diagnosed as fixable or not. Effort can be observed. It’s shareable information throughout the decision making process.

For the player, it’s instant feedback to improve all the training, weight-room work, exercise, sports conditioning. It adds immediate emphasis to a player regarding what they do well enough, and what they need to continue to improve upon.

Once in an NFL game as a starter, everything changes. And for the Rams, five players broke into that select group of players. The challenge is that each will want more. As it stands, the Rams will likely only have opportunities for two or three to earn a starting role in 2020.

Reason 5 – They’re not done improving
First-time offensive linemen in the NFL take time to mature and play well. For the 2019 NFL Draft, six offensive linemen were selected in the first round. These were the best of the class, the most heavily scouted and evaluated group of offensive linemen to become NFL starters. How did they do? Of those six: Kaleb McGary, Tytus Howard, Garrett Bradbury, Chris Lindstrom, Jonah Williams, and Andre Dillard, they averaged a mere 49.4 from PFF for their first year’s average grade. Even if factoring out OT Jonah Williams no score, this group of first-round selections averaged just 59.3.

For the six Rams players who saw action for the first time, and selected several rounds later, they averaged 51.45 for the year. Center Brian Allen scored 58.6, while right guard David Edwards scored a 61.0.

Even players who struggled mightily in 2019 like Joseph Noteboom have had plenty of time to process the blur of information he confronted as the starter for the Rams. So many fans form instant decisions about players from such a small sampling, particularly when that decision is negative. Players practice and improve. If the top draft picks barely tilt move the needle in their first season, you can bet other players with fewer natural athletic abilities will use the time to improve their second season in the NFL dramatically.

Even left guard Rodger Saffold had down seasons. His 2015 season graded at just 51.0 from PFF. He graded at 72.6 in 2016, and 80.3 in 2017. Not all of the LA Rams offensive linemen will improve as dramatically. In fact, not all will improve. But some will. And perhaps one or two will land in the 70+ or 80+ range at the end of the 2020 season.

We’ve said it before. Patience is the most important factor required for the LA Rams offensive line now. As the team works to improve the offensive line play, don’t be surprised if the team trades a player or two to another NFL team. The Rams offensive line is about to go from rags to riches.